BATON ROUGE – John Diarse probably knew the question was coming again, but that did not stop him from releasing a loud sigh with about a six-second hang time.

"I don't know, man," the LSU wide receiver said this week when asked if he would play chiefly at the slot, inside receiver position because several other Tigers' receivers are blessed with more speed.

"I like to say that I can do anything," he said. "If you believe you can do anything, you will do anything. I like to say I'm very versatile. I've worked everywhere in practice."

Diarse, a redshirt freshman from Neville High in Monroe, is also one of LSU's bigger and stronger wide receivers at 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds. That tends to help a receiver get off the line of scrimmage. LSU true freshmen speedsters Malachi Dupre (6-3, 188) and D.J. Chark (6-1, 176) are on the thin side as is redshirt freshman Avery Peterson (6-1, 180) as is sophomore Travin Dural (6-2, 182), the Tigers' leading returning receiver with seven catches last season.

Dupre, the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked prep receiver last season, has been slowed by a hamstring injury during camp. Chances are Dural and Diarse may get most of the passes from quarterback Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris when the No. 13 Tigers play No. 14 Wisconsin to open the season in Houston's NRG Stadium Saturday night (8 p.m. on ESPN).

"John Diarse has had a very good camp," LSU coach Les Miles said last week. "He really could've played last year, but we had so many veterans ahead of him."

That would be Odell Beckham, who was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants, and Jarvis Landry, who went in the second round to Miami."

Diarse will finally get his chance Saturday after a year of waiting.

"I'm very anxious," he said. "I talked to my mom last night, and she said, 'What are you going to do now? You finally get to hit somebody else.'"

Obviously, Sheila Diarse knows a thing or two about football at LSU. Receivers do not just catch passes. They have to block and sometimes tackle on special teams.

Diarse dressed out for all LSU games last season. "Just in case of emergency, I had to be ready," he said.

He will be ready Saturday for some passes his way. Diarse is used to having the ball in his hands. In the last game he played, he gained 148 yards rushing and threw for 151 as Neville's quarterback in a 29-22 loss to Karr in the Class 4A state championship game in the Louisiana Superdome in December of 2012. During that season, Diarse threw for 1,685 yards and rushed for another 1,327 and was named Mr. Football in Louisiana. He intercepted three passes as a defensive back as a junior in 2011.

"It's been a long time since that game," he said. "I'm ready to get back out there again."

After talking to his mother on the phone this week, Diarse also took a call from former LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle, a second round pick of the Giants in the 2012 NFL Draft. Diarse followed Randle's career at nearby Bastrop High, where he played quarterback as well.

"He is one of those guys I've always looked up to," Diarse said. "He came here and left a mark. That's what I want to do. I actually had a conversation with him today. He just said to stay on the path."

Diarse said Randle left him with four other bits of advice days before his collegiate debut - play confident, play dangerous, play bold and do your thing. There was no talk of the slot.

"I just want to contribute in any way, shape or form," he said. "If it comes to where I'm only playing slot, that will work."

Diarse, who finished at Neville in December of 2012 and went through LSU's spring drills in 2013, has been preparing for Saturday for 20 months.

"I've taken in all the information I can," he said. "Not just what I'm supposed to do, but what everyone else around is supposed to do, whether it's offense, defense, special teams. It's about finishing – finish everything you do, and work on the small things first."

Diarse's big moments may start very soon.

"It's about playing to your strengths and letting your personality shine through and, like Rueben said, 'Do your thing,'" Diarse said. "I don't want to be just great. I want to work to a role of being legendary."